Pablo Guisa boards two genre pics at Costa Rica market
Grupo Mórbido founder and CEO Pablo Guisa has boarded two genre projects at the Costa Rica Media Market as a producer and launched Blood Bank, a global pipeline initiative. The move backs the revived market as a genre hub and puts Central American horror on a clearer path from development to worldwide release. Coverage of grupo mrbidos pablo guisa activity matters for fans who follow Latin American horror toward streaming and theatrical pipelines.
Key Takeaways
- Pablo Guisa joined “Greetings from Maryland” and “What Lives in the Storm” as a producer after both won the Mórbido Co-Production Award at CRMM.
- Grupo Mórbido is investing 10% to 20% of each film’s budget and Guisa will stay involved from development through financing.
- Both titles came through Fantastic Lab Central America & Caribbean, which drew 55 submissions and chose 15 projects for development.
- B’atz’ and Ferrer are the first two Latin American directors to join Blood Bank, Grupo Mórbido and the Fantastic Pavilion’s new global initiative.
- Guisa says Blood Bank manages talent, IP, and money so projects can move from idea to worldwide release.
What projects did Pablo Guisa board at CRMM?
According to Variety, Guisa boarded “Greetings from Maryland” (“Saludos desde Maryland”) by El Salvador’s Ricardo B’atz’ and “What Lives in the Storm” (“Lo que trae la tormenta”) by Miguel Angel Ferrer.
Both films won the Mórbido Co-Production Award at the Costa Rica Media Market. That award brings a 10% to 20% investment from Grupo Mórbido in each production’s budget. Guisa will work across creative development and financing as producer.
“Greetings from Maryland” follows undocumented workers demolishing an abandoned house who unleash a cursed entity that hunts them one by one. B’atz’, known for social realist debut “Hoy,” plans to film in El Salvador and is moving into genre for the first time.
“What Lives in the Storm” centers on a reclusive ex-military doctor who shelters a mother and daughter during a Caribbean hurricane, only to find a horrific creature has followed them inside. Ferrer, a Venezuelan-Cuban-American whose “The Shadow of the Sun” represented Venezuela at the 96th Academy Awards, aims to shoot on the outskirts of Limón, Costa Rica.
Why does the Costa Rica Media Market deal matter?
Guisa’s producer credits are a strong endorsement of CRMM’s revival as a genre hub. The films were selected from Fantastic Lab Central America & Caribbean, a development initiative launched last year by the Fantastic Pavilion, CRMM, and Grupo Mórbido.
The lab’s first edition received 55 submissions from across the region. Fifteen projects entered intensive development, and six finalists were announced at Cannes. For more genre and release alerts, see our Streaming & TV Alerts desk.
B’atz’ said partnering with Guisa and Mórbido offers a chance for the film to grow beyond local origins and reach international audiences, framing supernatural fear as a reflection of horrors faced by migrant workers in the United States.
Ferrer called the alliance meaningful at this development stage, citing Mórbido’s vision and commitment to bold genre storytelling as ideal partners for bringing “Storm” to life.
What is Grupo Mórbido’s Blood Bank initiative?
B’atz’ and Ferrer become the first two Latin American directors to join Blood Bank, a new global initiative by Grupo Mórbido and the Fantastic Pavilion. Guisa described it as a response to a structural industry problem: supply is everywhere, but the pipeline does not exist.
He said Blood Bank manages three types of currency—talent, IP, and money—offered separately or together. The group can develop original projects with in-house talent, work from its IP library, and produce or co-produce the result.
With Mórbido’s festival, TV, and film arms, Manticora handling distribution, international sales and theatrical release, the Fantastic Pavilion, and a presence at major markets, Guisa argued the company can shepherd a project from high concept through festivals, theatrical, streaming, world sales, pay TV, Blu-rays, merchandising, and licensing.
After more than 30 years in genre film—working with names such as Adrián García Bogliano, Laura Casabe, Cristian Ponce, Edgar Nito, Julio Hernández Cordón, Patricio Valladares, and Isaac Ezban—Guisa framed Blood Bank as taking that full-pipeline model global.